About me and my research interests

I am an Associate Professor in Ecological Economics in the School of Environmental Sciences. I am a member of the Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE) and the 3S (Science, Society & Sustainability) Research Group.

My broad research interests focus thematically on water resources management in times of change and integrating ecosystem services (including cultural ecosystem services) in decision-making. This has involved using non-market methods to monetarily value urban green space, instream flows and ecosystem services in water scarce environments, market-based instruments design as part of basin scale water resources management reform and restoration, as well as, several studies on sustainable agriculture.

I am interested in supervising or co-supervising PhD/MSc students in these research areas. Please check out PhD/MSc funding below.

PhD and MSc Funding Opportunities

PhD funding

Have you ever thought about doing a PhD? There is some general information on PhDs at https://www.uea.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/bring-your-research-to-life, including video interviews with current PhD students.

Additionally, the UEA has two Doctoral Training Programmes (DTP). The Advanced Research and Innovation in Environmental Sciences (ARIES) DTP see, www.aries-dtp.ac.uk.

The second DTP is the South East Network for Social Sciences (SENSS). SENSS has both Faculty-led and Student-led studentships, see SENSS DTP 2025/26 . 

MSc funding

Chevening Scholarships funded by the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office fund MSc study in the UK. This opportunity is now open. These scholarships enable professionals to study in the UK for a master’s degree in any discipline. Scholarships last for one year and are fully funded, including, flights, accommodation and course fees. 

Check out the scholarships page at, https://www.chevening.org/scholarships/

Teaching

I am the module organiser and main lecturer for a Semester 2, Year 3 and MSc module in Environmental Economics (ENV-6012B, ENV-7116B).

School Admin Roles

I am the Senior Adviser in the School of Environmental Sciences as well as the Deputy Undergraduate and MSci Project Coordinator. I am also the Social Sciences Adviser on the Health and Safety Committee.

Publications

Click here for a full list of my publications Google Scholar - R Bark

Career history

2021 - present: Associate Professor in Ecological Economics, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia

2017 - 2021: Lecturer in Ecological Economics, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia

2015 - 2017: Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds

2010 - 2014: Research Scientist, Land and Water Flagship, CSIRO, Australia

2007 - 2010: Post-doc, University of Arizona, USA

2003 - 2006: PhD in Arid Lands Resource Sciences and Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Arizona, USA

1997: MSc in Environmental Economics and Natural Resources Management, UCL

1990: BA (Hons) Politics, Philosophy and Economics, The Queen's College, University of Oxford